The present invention relates generally to automatic textile machines of the type having a plurality of work stations arranged adjacent one another, each station being adapted for processing or otherwise handling a yarn, roving or other textile strand, e.g., multi-station textile yarn winding machines, textile yarn spinning machines, and the like.
In automatic multi-station textile machines of the aforementioned type, it is typical to provide each work station with only the operational components necessary for performing the particular strand processing or handling functions to be carried out in identical manner at each work station, with the work station components being operatively connected to common supply components extending to centralized supply devices housed within frame structures at one or both ends of the machine.
It is also typical to provide a conveyor or like transport system for delivering strand packages such as textile bobbins to and from the work stations, such transport systems generally also including centralized devices for performing a processing step on, or otherwise handling of, the bobbins or other packages.
Thus, it is known that the floor space required for such textile machines in textile mills must be sufficient to accommodate the multiple work stations of the machine and the machine's end frames, as well as the associated bobbin or package transport system. Since the floor area requirement for a given textile machine directly determines the total number of such machines which can be accommodated within a given building size or within a given amount of available floor space, a reduction of the floor space a machine requires can provide the significant advantage of enabling a greater number of machines to be operated within the same floor area. Likewise, in the design and planning of new construction of textile manufacturing buildings, a reduction in the floor space a machine requires can enable a corresponding reduction in the size and cost of the building.